Iowa AD Gary Barta named to College Football Playoff selection committee

Will serve 3-year term

Iowa athletics director Gary Barta walks along the sidelines prior to a game against Northern Illinois at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City on Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018. (Cliff Jette/The Gazette)

The Gazette

Iowa athletics director Gary Barta has been appointed to the College Football Playoff committee, CFP executive director Bill Hancock announced Friday.

Barta will serve a three-year term on the committee, beginning this spring. He replaces Ohio State athletics director Gene Smith, who is stepping down after two years on the committee.

“I’m delighted that Gary will be joining the committee,” Hancock said in a news release. “He is a highly respected leader in college football and I look forward to him becoming a member of the committee. I know Gary to be a person of excellent judgment and he’ll fit right in.”

“I’m honored to be invited to work on the CFP selection committee,” Barta said in a news release. “I look forward to serving alongside the other 12 committee members. I’ve known many of the people involved for years and know they’re passionate about college football and have all demonstrated character and integrity throughout their careers.”

The 13-member committee meets weekly late in the college football season to produce a top-25 ranking of teams and ultimately selects the four teams that will compete in the College Football Playoff at the end of the season. The CFP has operated since 2014, replacing the Bowl Championship Series.

Should it come up during his tenure, Barta won’t be swaying any decisions on Iowa’s spot in the rankings. According to the CFP, “committee members are recused from participating in votes involving a school’s team if they or an immediate family member receives compensation from the school or has a professional relationship with that school.”

Other members of the committee:

• Rob Mullens (Chair), Oregon athletics director

• Frank Beamer, former Virginia Tech head coach

• Paola Boivin, Arizona State professor

• Jeff Bower, former Southern Mississippi head coach

• Joe Castiglione, Oklahoma athletics director

• Herb Deromedi, former Central Michigan head coach

• Ken Hatfield, former Rice, Clemson, Arkansas and Air Force head coach

• Chris Howard, Robert Morris president

• Bobby Johnson, former Vanderbilt head coach

• Ronnie Lott, former Southern California All-American

• Todd Stansbury, Georgia Tech athletics director

• Scott Stricklin, Florida athletics director

The Gazette

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